Looseleaf binder and locking means therefor



1969 F. PETTIT 3,479,123

LOOSELEAF BINDER AND LOCKING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Sept. 26, 1967 2Sheets-Sheet 1 R 2 m5 2 mom M fig. B 9 m+m l 2, 1, u m" Q a; g i; w@ iw/fk 2% F. PETTIT LOOSELEAF BINDER AND LOCKING MEANS THEREFOR Nov. 18,1969 2 Sheefis-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 26. 1967 United States Patent US. Cl.40221 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A multi-ring binder forlooseleaf notebooks and the like having improved means for releasablylocking the rings in the closed position.

This invention relates to looseleaf binders and more specifically to anovel and improved multi-ring binder for looseleaf notebooks and thelike utilizing improved means for locking the rings in the closedposition and for releasing the locking means to permit the rings to beopened for insertion and removal of pages.

Various types of ring binders have been proposed such as theconventional split ring binder wherein spring means are employed tomaintain the cooperating portions of each split ring in engagement onewith the other and binders wherein ring segments are pivoted at one endto a supporting plate while the other end is adapted to be releasablyengaged with the plate to retain the rings in their closed position. Inthe latter structure a plurality of ring segments are usuallyinterconnected and are displaceable longitudinally of the supportingplate for holding the rings in the closed position and for releasingthem to permit insertion and removal of pages.

This invention constitutes an improvement of ring binders havinglongitudinally displaceable ring segments and provides a novel andimproved arrangement of elements whereby a plurality of rings by asingle supporting plate are automatically locked in the closed positionand means are provided for releasing the locking means to displace therings longitudinally for movement to an open position. In this way therings can not be accidentally released from the closed position.

Another object of the invention resides in a novel and improved ringbinder having a plurality of rings pivoted to a supporting plate andinterconnected one with the others for simultaneous longitudinaldisplacement and wherein means are provided for automatically lockingthe rings in the closed position when moved in one longitudinaldirection which means may be readily released to permit displacement ofthe rings in the other longitudinal direction so that they may bereleased for movement to an open position.

Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of anovel and improved ring binder characterized by its dependability,reliability and relatively low cost.

The above and other objects of the invention will become more apparentfrom the following description and accompanying drawings forming part ofthis application.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of a novel and improved ring binder in accordancewith the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom view of the form of the invention illustrated inFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view of FIGURE 1 taken along the line 33thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view of FIGURE 3 taken along the line 44thereof;

FIGURES 5 and 6 are cross sectional views similar to FIGURE 3 andillustrate the operation of the locking means to release the rings fromtheir closed position and permit longitudinal movement to a secondposition wherein the rings may be moved about the hinge to an openposition;

FIGURE 7 is an end view of the structure shown in FIGURE 3 and taken inthe direction of the arrows 7-7;

FIGURE 8 is a cross sectional view of FIGURE 4 taken along the line 8-8thereof;

FIGURE 9 is a cross sectional view of FIGURE 4 taken along the line 99thereof;

FIGURE 10 is a cross sectional view of FIGURE 4 taken along the line10-10 thereof;

FIGURE 11 is a top view of another embodiment of the ring binder inaccordance with the invention.

FIGURE 12 is a bottom view of the binder illustrated in FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is a cross sectional view of FIGURE 11 taken along the line1313 thereof;

FIGURE 14 is a cross sectional view of FIGURE 13 taken along the line1414 thereof;

FIGURE 15 is a view similar to FIGURE 13 showing the locking means inthe unlocked position.

FIGURES l6 and 17 are cross sectional views of FIG- URE l4 taken alongthe lines 16-16 and 17 17 thereof; and

FIGURE 18 is a cross sectional view of FIGURE 11 taken along the line18-18 thereof.

Reference is made to FIGURES 1 through 10 illustrating an embodiment ofthe invention utilizing an elongated plastic base generally denoted bythe numeral 10. This plastic base is normally secured to a coverassembly 11 by a plurality of rivets 12.

The plastic base 10 includes a top wall 13, side walls 14 and 15, andend walls 16 and 17. The side wall 15 and a portion of the top wall 13are cut away to provide a plurality of recesses 18 which willaccommodate ringling elements 19 in the manner to be described. Eachring-like element includes an arcuate portion terminating in endportions 19a and 1917. In the illustrated form of the invention thereare three such rings or ring-like elements secured to a longitudinal rod20 so that when the rod is secured in the base, the rings can besimultaneously reciprocated and rotated relative to the base. In theinstant embodiment of the invention, the rings 19 and the rod 20 areformed from a ringle length of round stock by bending the stock atintervals to form arcuate rings 19 as illustrated. It is evident,however, that the rod 20 may be a single longitudinal element and thatthe rings 19 may be separately formed and welded or otherwise secured tothe rod 20. The rod 20 is rotatably and reciprocally secured in positionon the base by means of walls 21 spaced from the side wall 20 andpositioned adjoining each of the cutout portions 18. A series ofinwardly extending tabs 22 carried by the wall 15 partially close thespaces between the walls 21 and the wall 15. With this arrangement therod 20 can be forced into position since the portions of the wall 15carrying the tabs 22 will deflect slightly outwardly and permit passageof the rod 20. Once the rod 20 is in position, the tabs 22 partiallyoverlie the rod 20 and thereby secure it in position.

The wall 14 of the base 10 is provided with three recessed portions 23for slidably accommodating the end portions 19b of the rings 19, and theinwardly extending tabs 24. As illustrated in FIGURE 1, the upperportion 23' of each recess 23 has a depth slightly greater than thelength of the tab 24 on the associated ring 19 so that the rings 19 canbe moved into and out of the recesses 23 as illustrated more clearly inFIGURE 9. The lower portion of each recess as illustrated in FIGURE 1has an outwardly extending ridge 25 so that when the rings 19 are movedto bring the tabs 24 into engagement with the recesses 23 and then thering assembly is moved downwardly, the tabs 24 will underlie the ridges25 and thereby hold the rings 19 in the closed position as illustratedin FIGURE 8. If desired, each of the recesses 23 may be provided with abottom wall 26, as will be observed more clearly in FIGURES 8 and 9, tolimit the rotational movement of the rings 19.

Referring more specifically to FIGURE 1, it will be observed that thelower end of the rod 20 is provided with an offset or angle 20' on theend thereof, and this angle 20' extends slightly beyond the end wall 17of the base 10 as illustrated in FIGURES 2, 3, and 4. It will beobserved from FIGURES 2 and 3 that the inwardly extending tabs 22 aredisposed on each side of the uppermost recesses as shown in FIGURE 2 butonly on the upper side of the lowermost recess 18 as shown in FIG- URE2. With this arrangement and with the rings 19 and rod 20 in thelowermost position as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the upwardly extendingangle 20' on the end of the rod 20 engages the lower edge of the plate10 and prevents longitudinal displacement of the rings 19 to theunlocked position. If it is desired to displace the rings 19longitudinally to permit movement of the rings to an open position, thelowermost ring 19 as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and is pressed downwardlycausing the rod 20 to deflect about the lowermost tab 22 and disengagethe end 20' of the rod 20 from engagement with the wall 13 of the plateas shown in FIGURE 5 whereupon the entire ring assembly can be moved tothe ring disengaging position as shown in FIGURE 6. The rings can thenbe rotated to the open position with the recess in the wall 15accommodating the end portion With the foregoing arrangement, when thering assembly including the rings 19 and the rod 20 are moved downwardlyas illustrated in FIGURE 10, the rings are automatically locked inposition and the end portion 20' on the rod 20 prevents accidentallongitudinal displacement of the rings 19. Should it be desired to movethe rings 19 to the unlocked position, it is merely necessary to applypressure to the lowermost ring 19 to disengage the end portion 20' onthe rod 20 from the base 10 and then displace the rings longitudinallyto move the tabs 24 out of engagement with the ridges 25.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URES 11 through 17is substantially identical to the embodiment of the invention alreadydescribed except that the base 10 is formed of metal instead of plastic.The utilization of metal for the base 10' permits certain variations inthe design of the base through the other elements of the structure andthe mode of operation is substantially identical to the previouslydescribed embodiment of the invention. Accordingly, correspondingelements in the two forms of the invention are identified by likenumerals.

The base 10' differs from the base 10 in FIGURE 1 in that it is providedwith two elongated channels 27 and 28 coupled by a central section 29through which a series of rivets 30 extend for fastening the base orplate to a cover assembly as previously described. The configuration ofthe base may be more readily comprehended by reference to FIGURES 16through 18.

In this embodiment of the invention the side wall 31 of the channel 27has three recesses 32 which correspond to the recesses 18 of FIGURE 1.Since the base of plate 10 is formed of metal, the rod 20 carrying thering-like elements 19 is held within the channel section 27 by metaltabs 33 as may be observed more clearly in FIGURES 12 and 18. Thus therod 20 and ring-like elements 19 are pivotally retained in position onthe base and at the same time may be reciprocated to remove the ringsfrom an engaged position to a position whereby the rings are releasedfor rotation to an open position.

The outer wall 34 of the channel 28 has a series of recesses 35 alignedwith the recesses 32. The upper portion of each recess 35 as viewed inFIGURE 11 extends inwardly to the inner wall 34 of the channel 29 toaccommodate the inwardly formed tabs 24 on the ring-like elements 19while the lower portion of each recess has an outwardly extending ridgeportion 36 to engage the tabs 24 on the ring-like elements 19 when moveddownwardly.

The locking means to retain the rings in the closed or engaged positionis similar to that illustrated and described in connection with theprevious embodiment of the invention in that the lower end of the rod 20includes an upwardly bent portion 20' which engages the lower edge ofthe channel section 27. To facilitate operation of this locking means,the tab 33 in the lowermost recess 32 as viewed in FIGURES 11 and 12 ispositioned substantially parallel with the wall 27' and a portion of thewall 31 is bent inwardly to form an inwardly extending tab 31 as viewedmore clearly in FIGURES 12, 16 and 17. This tab 31 holds the rod firmlywithin the channel 27 and the upwardly bent portion 20, which comprisesthe locking means, in engagement with the lower edge of the base orplate 10" as viewed in FIGURES ll, 12, and 13. To release the lockingmeans 20' for longitudinal displacement of the ring assembly, thelowermost ring 19 is pressed downwardly to deflect the rod 20 to thedotted line position shown in FIGURE 13. This deflection occurs aboutthe inwardly formed tab 31 which functions as a fulcrum. In so doing thering assembly can be shifted longitudinally as viewed in FIGURE 15 tomove the tabs 24 of the rings 19 out of engagement with the ridges 36whereupon the rings can be rotated about the axis of the rod 20.Movement of the ring 19 to place the tabs 24 in engagement with theridges 36 automatically causes the locking means 20' to snap intoengagement with the bottom edge of the plate 10' and thereby preventaccidental displacement of the rings during normal use of the ringbinder.

What is claimed is:

1. A ring binder comprising an elongated base plate, a plurality of ringelements each having an arcuate portion and spaced end portions, anelongated rod adjoining one longitudinal edge of said plate, said rodbeing rotatably and reciprocably carried by said plate, one of said endportions of each ring element being fixed to said rod, inwardlyextending tab means on the other end portion of each of said ringelements, spaced means on the other longitudinal edge of said plateslidably receiving said inwardly extending tab means, said spaced meanseach. including tab engaging means to engage said tabs and preventrotation of said ring element to an open position when said ringelements are in one longitudinal position and disengaging said tabs topermit movement to the open position when the ring elements are inanother longitudinal position and relasable locking means carried bysaid rod, said locking means comprising an angularly offset portioncarried by said elongated rod and normally engaging one end of said baseplate with said ring elements in said one longitudinal position andpreventing longitudinal displacemet of said rod, a tab carried by saidbase plate and underlying said rod at a point adjoining the inner sideof the end ring element adjoining said offset portion whereby depressionof the last said ring when said rod is in said one longitudinal positionwill deflect said rod to disengage said oflset portion from said baseplate and permit displacement of said rod and ring elements to the otherlongitudinal position so that said ring elements can be rotated to theopen position.

(References on following page) References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTSFOREIGN PATENTS 661,062 11/1951 Great Britain.

Gudis 129- 4 1,026,040 4/1966 Great Britain. Thesieres 129-24 Dennis 1 5JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner Dennis 129-24

